Wudu Gaoshan Opera

Name of China's national intangible cultural heritage: Wudu Gaoshan Opera

Applicant: Longnan City, Gansu Province

Project No.: 735

Project No.: Ⅳ - 134

Time of publication: 2008 (second batch)

Category: Traditional Drama

Region: Gansu Province

Type: new item

Applicant: Longnan City, Gansu Province

Protection unit: Gaoshan Opera Research Center of Wudu District, Longnan City (intangible cultural heritage protection center of Wudu District, Longnan City)

Introduction to Wudu Gaoshan Opera:

Applicant: Longnan City, Gansu Province

Gaoshan opera, also known as "Gaoshan opera", is one of the two unique operas in Gansu Province, mainly spread in Yulong Town, Wudu District, Longnan City, Gansu Province. Yulong, Longxing and other places called it "performing story" and "going through the motions", and officially named it "Gaoshan opera" in October 1959.

Yulong town is located in the northeast of Wudu District, Longnan City, with deep mountains and deep ditches, closed traffic and relatively backward economy and culture. In history, every disaster year or temple fair, people gathered together and invited "Shigong" (wizard) to worship gods and pray for disaster. For a long time, this kind of activity of "praising God by teachers" for the purpose of entertaining God has gradually evolved into a kind of folk entertainment activity of bar dance for self entertainment and people entertainment. In the early Ming Dynasty, Yulong town formed the custom of singing opera to commemorate the great general Li Wenzhong (Da'an ye). Under this situation, the Ba style dance sublimated from the random singing in the field, in front of and behind the house to the dramatic performance of "perfunctory story" on the stage. After hundreds of years of development, it finally became Gaoshan opera.

Gaoshan opera has a unique style with high pitched and resonant singing, beautiful and natural, unique costumes, and "four skills and five methods" in performance. There are more than 600 plays (stories) and more than 300 original tunes. Gaoshan opera culture contains the world outlook, values and historical outlook of the ancient working people. It is a vivid embodiment of China's folk culture and drama culture, and has important research value.